UCaaS Providers: How to Choose the Best
Regardless of what industry your clients are in, one thing is certain — efficient and reliable communications are the lynchpin of their success. As an IT service provider or a telecom company, you’re constantly on the lookout for new ways to make your services to those clients as relevant and up-to-date as possible. This is something UCaaS providers can help you with.
In the past few years, one of the biggest trends that have engulfed the business world is remote work. Now that the post-COVID state of affairs is becoming clearer, it’s obvious that remote work is here to stay. Many businesses have already come to terms with this fact — and those who haven’t will in the near future.
Amidst this paradigm shift, the service providers that recognize the change towards remote work can make a killing by helping their clients with top-notch UCaaS packages. But just what is UCaaS in the first place, and how do you choose the right UCaaS providers for this vital technology? We’ll cover all of this in detail right here.
What is UCaaS?
If you’re working for a telecom company, chances are you know about “UCaaS” — and if you don’t, you definitely will soon.
UCaaS stands for “Unified Communications as a Service” and is a comprehensive software package containing all the voice communication and collaboration tools that a modern business needs. In other words, VoIP, SMS, video conferencing, digital fax, and a myriad of other functionalities are all hosted in the cloud and accessible from smartphones, tablets, Macs, PCs, etc.
Most of those features don’t sound like anything revolutionary, but that’s precisely the point — it’s everything a business would use in the 2020s anyway, but all bundled in one unified package instead of dispersed across multiple systems and applications.
It’s an integrated system that, when done right, efficiently streamlines all the communication within a single company, including customer support communication as well. UCaaS basically combines three crucial communication technologies of the 21st century: instant messaging, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), and mobile devices.
The result is nothing less than a powerhouse of modern business communications, fulfilling all the needs of a modern hybrid and/or remote workforce.
Why is UCaas Popular Right Now?
Arguably, the technologies combined in the average package offered by UCaaS providers have existed for a while. And yet, UCaaS will continue to grow by 13.8% CAGR before the end of this decade. So, what has created the perfect storm for the sudden popularity of UCaaS with business clients?
Remote Work
This is a big one, especially in the post-pandemic business world. Office workers have become used to the option of working from their couches, beds, favorite coffee shops, or even vacation spots. And as long as productivity doesn’t suffer, there’s no reason why workers shouldn’t have that kind of choice.
“Productivity” is the key word there because remote and hybrid work isn’t viable without a robust communication platform that allows all employees to communicate without a hitch on any device, wherever they are located. They shouldn’t be tied to a desk or limited to a phone calls.
UCaaS enhances productivity, increasing the flexibility, employee satisfaction, and mobility of any company that adopts such a solution. Most companies are looking to do that in the near future, so you don’t want to be left in the dust by competitors that have already found great white-label UCaaS providers and are offering their rebranded packages right now.
Lower Costs And Greater Scalability
If you’re going to become a white label UCaaS reseller to bring huge value to your clients, you’ll need to know what they want. Most of them desire the same things: easy scalability and cost savings.
Your ideal white-label UCaaS provider will give you a cost-effective, highly scalable solution. In most cases, UCaaS solutions are subscription-based; making the process of adding and removing offerings to meet your clients’ needs seamless if you have the right white label UCaaS software.
Heightened Security Needs
Businesses and honest individuals aren’t the only ones who have gotten used to a digital-first world. Incredibly inventive hackers and cybercriminals have become more adept as well. In a world where security risks and data breaches are becoming a fact of daily life, the spike in demand for a secure cloud-based communications system is understandable.
That’s why great UCaaS providers offer platforms that allow your clients to manage every aspect of their business communications safely, in a secure online environment. Any halfway decent UCaaS provider will have multiple layers of security, as well as complex backup mechanisms to prevent any malicious actors from doing any damage to a client company.
Related: Does It Pay to Become a Telecom Reseller?
Better Customer Support
Any B2C company will tell you one thing, regardless of what industry they’re in, great customer communication is their #1 priority. This is understandable because customer expectations are higher than ever before. We’ve all become accustomed to a world of instant messaging and quick answers — and people expect the same from their service providers.
That’s precisely why UCaaS providers have been doing such stellar business lately. When customers adopt UCaaS, they immediately see an improvement in their user experience, thanks to more flexible and efficient communications. Their customer support staff is able to quickly switch between different channels of communication seamlessly, carrying over conversations from emails and text messages to video and VoIP calls in seconds.
Related: How To Become the Best Voice over IP Reseller
How Do You Choose a Great UCaaS Provider?
Now that you know why companies are looking for UCaaS platforms, how can you become their go-to provider?
Developing a UCaaS platform in-house would take years and large amounts of money. And you still don’t have any guarantee your internal team will be able to create a competitive platform on their own.
That’s why partnering with a white-label UCaaS provider is the optimal solution. You leverage a ready-made comprehensive software solution and rebrand it as your company’s product.
But considering the growing demand for UCaaS, how can you be sure you’ve chosen the right white-label UCaaS partner? Here are a few features to look for while searching for the right provider:
True Unified Communications
When you’re choosing between different UCaaS providers, it’s important to find someone who won’t just give your clients rudimentary VoIP features. Instead, they should provide the “U” in “UCaaS” which should truly stand for unified.
In other words, your users need the ability to seamlessly switch between various channels of communications in one integrated platform, instead of awkwardly repeating information across a bunch of different applications on various platforms. Or worse, they use personal devices your clients can’t control.
When employees are able to move between a live chat and a voice call without missing a beat, you’re really giving your clients a lot of value for their money with an effective communication system.
Reliable Voice Calls
Even in this day and age, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is still the most important pillar of any UCaaS system because it uses the cloud to transmit voice signals instead of physical landlines. And that means you need a UCaaS provider that can give you a reliable digital phone system with dependable voice calling. Apart from clear calls, a robust VoIP system also comes with call routing, in-depth call logs, and easy call recording — all of which allow your clients’ employees to do their work effectively.
Automatic Call Distribution
ACD or Automatic Call Distribution is just a fancy way of saying “call routing,” and it’s another incredibly important feature for any comprehensive UCaaS system with advanced VoIP features.
Finding a UCaaS provider that has done great work when it comes to call routing means a great deal to your future clients. When incoming calls are quickly and efficiently redirected to the right destination, the entire system flows smoothly. This process is vital if you want to avoid client frustration.
Great Customer Service
Regardless of how great your white-label UCaaS software is, some kind of issue is bound to come up at some point or another. That’s why you want to make sure that your UCaaS provider also offers excellent and around-the-clock customer support through live chat and phone. You want to be there for your clients 24/7, and you need to know you can get answers when you need them.
Add A Great New Revenue Stream Through Your UCaaS Provider
If you’re looking for the best possible UCaaS provider, it’s best to begin now. Demand for cloud-based communications is at an all-time high, and you don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to earn your share of the market. Look for a UCaaS package that has all the services that help modernize your clients’ communications and a cost-effective provider that leaves your profit margins big enough to make it worth your while.SkySwitch offers a white-label UCaaS platform that has helped countless managed service providers (MSPs), system integrators, interconnects and value-added resellers (VARs) deliver unprecedented value to their entire client base. If you want to do the same, contact us and get started with SkySwitch today!